Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coarsely chop mushrooms (reserve 4 whole shiitake or crimini); drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast chopped and whole mushrooms for 20 minutes in a shallow roasting pan. Add garlic and shallots. Stir and roast 5 minutes; stir and roast another 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms from oven. Take whole mushrooms and set aside to use as garnish later. Place others in a large pan or skillet.

If you use homemade chicken broth, you may need to add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet as well if the broth is quite rich. If you are using canned broth, the water may not be necessary. Adjust to suit your taste. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Transfer several ladles of the soup into a large serving bowl. Blend remaining soup with an immersion hand blender or purée in a regular blender. Stir puréed portion into serving bowl to combine with chunkier soup. Add cream and season with salt and pepper if desired.

Serve warm with the reserved whole shiitakes for garnish. Lovely with crusty French bread and an earthy pinot noir.

Note: You can vary the flavors in this soup by experimenting with the mushrooms used. I simply used some criminis I had on hand and what I could find at the local farmers market. I tend to favor a blend of mushroom types for more complex flavors.